© Abigael Donahue

Cleaning Cal mobile app

A mobile app for finding housekeepers


+ Role: Lead designer and researcher

+ Business: Google UX Design Certification Course

+ Techniques: Storyboards, journey maps, wireframes, prototypes, research plans, affinity maps

+ Tools: Figma, Gemini

User outcome & storyboards

Who am I designing for?

People in their 30s – 50s who are busy professionals or students with limited free time.


What is their challenge?

Between work and school, house chores take up what limited free time they have.


How can I solve their challenge?

Give them some time back with affordable housekeepers who are easy to find and book.

Journey map & wireframes

- Plan user actions and the steps they’ll take in the flow.

- Consider how the user might feel at each step and how to optimize the experience based on those feelings.

- Sketch wireframes and create digital versions in Figma.

- Build a low-fidelity prototype for user testing.

UX research process

  • - Create the research study plan, including the script, research questions, and KPIs. 
  • - Conduct the usability study with 5 participants.   
  • - Track tasks, click paths, observations, quotes, and completion ease scores.
  • - Synthesize the data with affinity mapping.
  • - Use the affinity map to identify themes and develop insights for each theme.

Usability study #1:

Low-fi iterations

  • - Add an account creation flow.
  • - Provide a profile to store user information.
  • - Redesign the housekeeper search list to show several condensed profiles.
  • - Show a calendar view for booking a housekeeper.

Low-fi to high-fi

  • Collect asynchronous feedback on wireframes v2 and the build high-fidelity prototype in Figma.
  • - Replace the sidebar menu with a mobile-friendly nav hub. 
  • - Add an option for users to search for housekeepers as a guest.
  • - Collect home details from the user, including square footage.

Usability study #2:

High-fi iterations

  • - Collect the user's cleaning needs and home details before they search for housekeepers.
  • - Show the pricing model and projected cost before showing the housekeeper list.

  • - Add a loading screen with a progress bar and information on how the search works.
  • - Surface housekeepers who align with the user's cleaning needs and home details.

Iterate & finalize

  • Collect asynchronous feedback on the high-fidelity prototype, iterate, and finalize.
  • - Add step numbers to accompany the progress bar before the user searches.
  • - Put the key user CTA ("Book") towards the top of the housekeeper profile page.
  • - In the booking wizard, show condensed information on the "Review" step.

Key findings & highlights

  • Establish user trust
  • Give complete transparency into pricing and total cost before the booking process begins.

  • Lower the barrier to entry
  • Don’t make users create an account until they’re ready to book a housekeeper.

  • Personalize the experience
  • Show a general home page for new users and a personalized home page for existing users.

  • Make interactions accessible
  • Make buttons thumb-friendly, as well as accessible for users without the use of their hands.